Austin firefighters celebrate Thanksgiving on the job

Thanksgiving Day was unusually busy for the Austin Fire Department this year, but after the fires were out and the city got quiet, Austin firefighters held their own Thanksgiving tradition at fire station eight.

“Every year we invite the families up; wives, children, friends,” said Lt. Raymond Leschber with the Austin Fire Department.

It makes working the holidays a little easier for the first responders and their families.

“You're away from your family for us for 24 hours during the holiday and either you're getting home and Christmas morning is already done or you have to leave Christmas morning,” Leschber said.

“I know that he's here and these guys are his second family,” said Raymond’s wife Stacy Leschber.

With several semiprofessional cooks at the station, there is no shortage of gourmet food.

“We fry a turkey, bake a turkey, we have all the trimmings, someone does the dressing and it's all home cooked. We don't buy anything. We make it all here,” Raymond said.

But each firefighter knows the meal could get cut short at any time. “If we all get a call, the wives stay here and hold down the fort and we come back and pick up where we left off,” said Raymond.

That doesn't make the holidays any less special for Austin firefighters. “Actually more special. I mean, we're not just with our family, we're with all of these families,” Stacy said.